Gordon Biersch celebrates 20 years

After 20 years of saturating themselves in the glory of garlic fries and the smooth German lager of Gordon Biersch, Californians get to share their local secret with the world.

Founders Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in Palo Alto are going national — and then some. And it only took them 20 years to give in.

The duo prides themselves on the authenticity of their beer, going for the same consumer experience that people get in Munich.

"We’ve established ourselves as Classic German-style beer makers. We’re not really Americanized,” said Biersch, who met Gordon in 1988.

The brews — including pilsner, marzen, blonde bock and hefeweizen — have become a staple for party-goers and homebodies alike in the southwestern region of the United States.

Now, the company plans on distributing nationwide, from Maryland to New Mexico. June 9 marked the opening of the brewery’s first restaurant outside of the states — in Taiwan.

"The Chinese like their beer, too,” remarked Biersch.

"We took pot stickers off the menu,” Gordon added.

Gordon obtained a degree in brewing engineering in 1987 from the University of Munich. After returning home to Palo Alto, Gordon met Biersch and a German beer legacy continued in sunny California.

"He had the restaurant background and I had the brewing background,” said Gordon. Thirty-seven restaurants in 19 states later, the combination proved to be killer.

Fast-forward 20 years into the future and Biersch sat enjoying an unfiltered Pilsner in his new restaurant — the three-month-old Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol. He reminisced with Gordon about earlier this month, when they celebrated their 20-year anniversary in classic brewer-style dinner parties.

"Everyone was getting well lubricated off of the beers,” Gordon said of the festivities.

Today, Biersch doesn’t have much spare time as a single father of three kids, the co-founder of a blossoming company and the mastermind behind a new restaurant in Sonoma County. He doesn’t much mind, though.

"I have a beer garden in wine country,” said Biersch of Hopmonk Tavern.

In light of dark German beers, the heydays of California grapes have wrinkled.

When he’s not brewing beer, Gordon plays bass trombone in a big band jazz group, (a July 21 show at the San Jose Gordon Biersch location features Louis and Kelly Fasman), cooks and attends his children’s sporting events near his home in Redwood Shores.

In a couple of weeks, Gordon Biersch will launch their seasonal beer, Fest Beer, in honor of the renowned German Oktoberfest. Seasonal beers are released every three months.

So what do the brew-meisters prefer for their palates?

"My favorite beer from the beginning was always an unfiltered Bavarian dark beer,” Biersch remembered. "I fell in love with that straight off.”

The imported German hops and yeast that Gordon Biersch Brewery uses sets it apart from typical American brewing companies.

"Ninety-nine percent of what you see out there now is Americanized versions of classic European brews,” said Biersch.

European giant InBev SA’s recent acquisition of American brewing company Anheuser-Busch inspired Biersch’s suggestion to "drink domestic.” He recommends that consumers trust what they know — that is, localized, American breweries.

"Make sure you drink American,” said Biersch. "That’s the way you want to go.”